Benefits for HERO workers cleared

State highway employees who are injured or killed while doing their job on the road are closer to receiving payment from the state after a Georgia House vote on Thursday.

Senate Bill 58 is similar to House Bill 156, which passed unanimously earlier this year. But the Senate version is retroactive so it will cover Spencer Pass, the highway emergency response operator who was killed on I-85 while helping a motorist in January.

Only highway workers who work outside will be added to the list of jobs such as police officers and emergency personnel who qualify for indemnification pay under the bill, which passed 166-1. The pay for death is $100,000. Injuries with partial disability pay $35,000, and full disability pays $75,000.